In 1502 Leonardo da Vinci came to Romagna,
as an engineer commissioned by Duke Valentino, namely Cesare
Borgia who by that time had become the major landowner in Romagna.
Leonardo had to carry out some studies and projects on the
fortifications of the land and, as was his custom (as his intellectual
curiosity knew no bounds), he always kept a notebook to hand
where he wrote down all the things which fascinated him: among
the customs of the people of Romagna, he noted the way grapes
were hung up to dry to preserve them over the winter.
This is the story behind our choice of logo for the Association “The
Wine and Dine Route through the Hills of Forlì and
Cesena”: this little drawing by the genius of the Italian
Renaissance thus becomes a symbol of ‘Romagna with
its traditional flavours and learning’. The original
can be found at the French Institute in Paris (a detail of
one of the sheets of MANUSCRIPT L), and, with Leonardo’s
unmistakable graphic style, also shows his skill as an attentive
observer of social phenomena and man of his time.
